Padma Shri Raveena Tandon has been a true changemaker, associated with various causes throughout her career spanning decades. Be it wildlife conservation, women empowerment, or even breaking the mould by doing off beat roles, she has set an example everywhere.
It therefore didn’t come as a surprise when she was chosen by the ministry to be a delegate at the prestigious W20, the Women’s Empowerment engagement wing at G20 India’s Presidency recently.
“I have been working for women and girl child even before I began my career as an actor. I just started doing it... and now my efforts are being recognised. Whether it was trying to spread awareness, physically helping on field through different means. I think that is something which I am representing now at W20. Whether it’s working at the grassroot level, economic upliftment of women, equal opportunities, everything comes under the W20 umbrella,” she shares.
Even after she began working in films, the approach she took was very different: she was a big commercial name who decided to also work in non-masala films such as Shool and Daman, for which she was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actress.
“I took that risk. After a Tu Cheez Badi Hai, and Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare, I did Satta and all those films. In those days, one would get stereotyped, now probably it is not there. You can sit and choose. One used to do many films in one go then. It’s never easy, it happens only when you have belief in yourself. Until and unless you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect other people to believe you? That belief jumps out and touches a person,” Tandon waxes philosophical.
{{/usCountry}}“I took that risk. After a Tu Cheez Badi Hai, and Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare, I did Satta and all those films. In those days, one would get stereotyped, now probably it is not there. You can sit and choose. One used to do many films in one go then. It’s never easy, it happens only when you have belief in yourself. Until and unless you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect other people to believe you? That belief jumps out and touches a person,” Tandon waxes philosophical.
{{/usCountry}}Along the way, when she was taking up all social causes and also doing realistic cinema, did she meet naysayers, and have people telling her she is making the wrong choices? The actor replies, “I had seen my parents work towards these causes, towards social upliftment whether it was for orphanages, or old age homes, so it has been imbibed in me since my childhood. The world is what we make of it. You got to walk the talk, and make the change you want to see in the world. Boond boond se sagar banta hai. This is what I am trying to impart to my children Rasha and Ranbir as well. Both of them are kind, compassionate, Rasha works for wildlife already.”
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